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Distracted driving in the age of smartphones has made rear-end car accidents a common occurrence. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that rear-end collisions are the most common type of crash, accounting for 29 percent of all traffic accidents. Driver distraction factors into roughly 60 percent of these collisions.
If you are struck from behind while driving, or if you are falsely accused of striking a car in front of you, calling a Chesterton rear-end car accident lawyer is often the best way to protect your rights after the collision. An experienced attorney could help you recover from an unfortunate car wreck.
Indiana sets forth the steps to take after an accident in Indiana Vehicle Code § 9-26-1-1.1.
It is important to exchange information at the accident scene, including:
Also, if possible, it is wise to take photographs of every angle of any vehicles involved in order to preserve evidence to support a potential case.
Indiana law recognizes the assured clear distance rule, which means drivers should maintain enough of a safe distance while driving so that they can stop in time to avoid hitting a car in front of them that stops suddenly. Violations of this rule can be considered evidence of liability in a rear-end accident.
There are potential exceptions to the liability implications of this rule. For example, if a rear-end collision occurs due to a chain reaction caused by another driver, or someone cuts off another driver or merges suddenly into their lane in front of the defendant without matching the speed of surrounding traffic. An unexpected and sudden intrusion into the path of another car, a person, an animal or an object can count against liability under the assured clear distance rule.
A Chesterton rear-end car accident lawyer could examine the evidence to support the highest value for a client’s claim and negotiate with the insurance company on their client’s behalf. The attorney could also bring experience in assessing rear-end crash liability with regard to driving distracted, tailgating, and driving error.
In certain cases, the car ahead of a driver conspires with cars on both sides to box them in while the car ahead backs into them, so that insurance can be collected. An experienced Chesterton rear-end car accident attorney could know what evidence to look for to show who was the actual victim in this case.
Indiana Code §34-11-2-4 establishes that the statute of limitations for a rear-end accident lawsuit is within two years of the crash date. A Chesterton rear-end car accident lawyer could go to bat for you within this time period.
Call today to get started on your case, so that you pursue recovery for your injuries, medical bills, pain and suffering, lost income, and other costs and inconvenience that your accident caused you.